Pre-School Education: Finance

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much and what proportion of the Graduate Leader Fund has been spent; and what guidance has been given to local authorities about how to allocate it.

Beverley Hughes: The Graduate Leader Fund (£305 million over the CSR period 2008-11) superseded the Transformation Fund on 1 April 2008. Information on the first year of spend (i.e. 2008-09) will be provided to the Department by local authorities through their audited financial statements in the autumn of 2010.
	Guidelines on the Graduate Leader Fund guidelines were issued to local authorities in March 2008. The purpose of the funding is to support all PVI full daycare settings employ graduate leaders of early years practice by 2015, In return, settings in receipt of funding commit to employing a graduate to lead learning and development within the setting in a reasonable time period.
	The guidelines set out the Government's expectations as to how the fund should be used by local authorities in particular:
	working with PVI providers to prioritise and allocate funding in ways which best match local demand;
	passporting the grant to PVI providers;
	providers being able to use funding as a contribution to salary costs and for further continuous professional development for graduates and those training towards becoming graduate early years professionals.

Youth Services: Local Government Finance

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding in real terms his Department and its predecessors have provided to Lancashire county council for youth services in the last 10 years; how much of that sum was spent in West Lancashire constituency; and what percentage of the allocation to Lancashire county council that represents.

Kevin Brennan: Local authorities in England are not allocated money specifically for youth services. It is up to local authorities to decide how much of their overall funding they wish to allocate to youth services based on their own individual needs and circumstances. However, the following table includes how much Lancashire LA has budgeted for youth services in each of the last nine financial years (budget data are not available prior to the inception of Section 52 for the 1999-2000 financial year). Financial data on youth services is collected at a local authority level and as such we are unable to say how much of Lancashire's budgeted funding for youth services has been spent In the West Lancashire constituency.
	
		
			  Budgeted net expenditure by Lancashire LA on youth services 
			  £ 
			   Cash terms  Real terms 
			 1999-2000 7,192,000 8,549,000 
			 2000-01 7,610,000 8,918,000 
			 2001-02 7,532,000 8,620,000 
			 2002-03 7,884,000 8,750,000 
			 2003-04 8,067,000 8,700,000 
			 2004-05 9,440,000 9,908,000 
			 2005-06 10,014,000 10,288,000 
			 2008-07 12,772,000 12,772,000 
			 2007-08 12,251,000 11,865,000

Students: Grants

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many undergraduates qualified for maintenance grants of  (a) £2,765,  (b) £2,417,  (c) £1,548,  (d) £1,230,  (e) £927,  (f) £401 and  (g) £50 for the 2007-08 academic year; and how many received no grant.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 6 May 2008
	The number of undergraduates qualified for maintenance grants for the academic year 2007/08 is not available at the level of detail requested. However the 2007/08 mid-year provisional data was published by the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release of 27 November 2007 available at
	http://www.slc.co.uk/statistics/national_statistics.html
	The table gives the relevant information.
	
		
			  Distribution of maintenance grants to English domiciled students 207/08 (provisional early figures). 
			   Students( 1) 
			 Full Maintenance Grant(2) 158,000 
			 Partial Maintenance Grant 110,000 
			 Nil Maintenance Grant 217,000 
			 Total 485,000 
			 (1 )Excludes students who do not apply to SLC for support. Excludes those not eligible for a maintenance grant because they receive an NHS bursary. (2) Full grant includes ITT students receiving the full reduced grant (£1,382).  Source:  Student Loans Company. 
		
	
	In July 2007 the Secretary of State announced increases to the means-testing threshold below which students are entitled to a full maintenance grant—up from £17,910 for entrants in 2007/08 to £25,000 for entrants in 2008/09. The threshold for a partial grant will increase from £38,330 for entrants in 2007/08 to £60,005 for entrants in 2008/09, These thresholds relate to household residual income. This will mean that one third of all eligible students in England entering higher education in the academic year 2008/09 are expected to be entitled to a full non-repayable grant worth £2,835 and another one third are expected to be entitled to a partial grant of between £50 and £2,835. Due to these reforms, by 2011, the number of students receiving some level of grant will increase by around 100,000, As part of this change, an extra 50,000 students will receive a full grant.

Gambling: Internet

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with  (a) the European Commission and  (b) other EU member states on the effect of US law on EU business interests in the United States, with particular reference to (i) online gambling companies and (ii) companies providing financial services to the online gambling sector.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The UK remained in close contact with the European Commission in connection with the negotiation of an agreed compensation package following the US administration's decision to withdraw from a World Trade Organisation commitment to provide access to the US online gambling market to non-US companies.
	The European Commission is now investigating the United States' ban on remote gambling and its enforcement action against UK and European companies for activities conducted in the US as a result of a complaint under the Trade Barriers Regulation made by the UK gambling industry. The UK Government welcome the European Commission's decision to investigate and we await their conclusions with interest.

Ministerial Policy Advisers: Data Protection

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Prime Minister whether the data held by special advisers is the responsibility of the  (a) Permanent Secretary of each Government Department or  (b) Cabinet Secretary for the purposes of the (i) Data Protection Act 1998 and (ii) Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Gordon Brown: Special advisers are subject to the requirements of legislation in the same way as other civil servants.

Children's Commissioners for Wales and England: Co-ordination

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers on the co-ordination of the work of the Children's Commissioners for Wales and England.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I have arranged a meeting with the new children's commissioner for Wales, Keith Towler to discuss a range of issues, including co-ordination with the children's commissioner for England.
	I also have regular contact with the deputy children's commissioner for Wales, Maria Battle.

North East Wales: Contribution to UK Economy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the contribution of north-east Wales to the UK economy.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The continued success of and contribution made by north-east Wales is an important part, not only of the Welsh economy, but of the UK's, as a whole.

Joint Ministerial Committee

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made in reinvigorating the Joint Ministerial Committee; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: I have met the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, and the First Minister and deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland, to discuss how best to re-establish the committee. We aim to hold a meeting of the Committee before the summer. I believe it offers a way of operating devolution arrangements in the United Kingdom better, for everyone's benefit.

Child Tax Credit Helpline

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long the standard training period for staff joining the Child Tax Credits Helpline service is.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC operates the tax credits Helpline. This covers both Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 31 January 2008,  Official Report , column 683W.

Cyprus

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 12 May 2008,  Official Report, column 48WS, on UN Forces (Cyprus), what the cap badge will be of the 250 reservists.

Bob Ainsworth: Individuals will be selected from within 2 Division, based largely upon HQ 32 Signal Regiment. The process of selection and training of reservists to serve on the next deployment for Operation Tosca with the UN in Cyprus will culminate in full notice of call-out (which is a minimum of 28 days) prior to their mobilisation. This will not need to take place until later this year, and until then, I cannot confirm which cap badges will be. When the units deploy they will all wear the UN blue beret and UN cap badge.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many freedom of information requests made to his Department were  (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days,  (b) not answered and  (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information in each year since the Act came into force.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Justice has published two annual reports containing statistical information on freedom of information requests received by monitored bodies (including central Government Departments) in 2005 and 2006. These reports can be found at the following address:
	http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/reference/statisticsAndReports.htm
	The 2007 annual report is currently being drafted for publication in June 2008. However, statistics on requests received in each quarter of 2007 have been published and can be found via the MOJ website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformation quarterly.htm
	Information requests where deadlines were extended beyond 40 days is not collected in the form requested; however the proportion of resolvable requests the Department answered "in time" (i.e. meeting the deadline or with a permitted extension) in 2007 was 87 per cent.
	For 2005 and 2006, the reports show the number of requests received by the Department which were withheld, either in full or in part, where an FOI exemption or EIR exception was applied. For 2007, the number of such requests was 390, based on aggregated quarterly statistics from 2007. Requests withheld solely under the exemption applicable to "information available by other means" are not included; statistics on these are not collected centrally because they are dealt with as routine business.

Departmental Publications

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the Ministry of Defence quarterly performance reports from each year since 1997.

Des Browne: The Department has published an annual performance report (since 2002-03 the annual report and accounts) setting out its end year performance since 1996-97. Copies are available in the Library of the House. The Department has also published quarterly performance reports on its website since the fourth quarter of 2003-04. These can be found at:
	http://www.mod.uk/Defencelnternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/FinancialReports/ModPSASD AandTechnicalNotes.htm
	Where these have comprised the formal autumn or spring performance reports copies were automatically placed in the Library of the House at the time of publication. I will arrange for copies to be placed in the Library of the House of any quarterly reports that have been published on the Department's website but not previously placed in the Library.

Prisoners: Foreigners

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many foreign nationals were sentenced to a term of imprisonment in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: Data relating to the number of foreign nationals (i.e. individuals recorded as citizens of countries other than the UK or the Republic of Ireland) sentenced to immediate custody is only available for 2006. During this period there were 35 individuals recorded as foreign nationals who were sentenced to immediate custody in Northern Ireland.

Prisoners: Foreigners

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many foreign nationals were sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: Data relating to the number of foreign nationals (i.e. individuals recorded as citizens of countries other than the UK or the Republic of Ireland) sentenced to immediate custody is only available for 2006. During this period there were five individuals recorded as foreign nationals who were sentenced to a term of custody of 12 months or more in Northern Ireland.

Public Inquiries

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 1 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 625-6W, on public inquiries, what the cost of  (a) the Saville Inquiry,  (b) each of the other ongoing public inquiries in Northern Ireland and  (c) the Historic Enquiries Team investigations was in each of the last six months for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: The costs for the last six months for which figures are available for each public inquiry under way in Northern Ireland are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  The Robert Hamill inquiry 
			   £ 
			  2007-08  Spend 
			 October 237,869 
			 November 339,931 
			 December 260,159 
			 January 330,257 
			 February 362,068 
			 March 1,175,066 
			   
			 Total 2,705,350 
		
	
	
		
			  The Rosemary Nelson inquiry 
			   £ 
			  2007-08  Spend 
			 October 1,103,919 
			 November 1,244,301 
			 December 65,047 
			 January 1,139,430 
			 February 805,001 
			 March 1,340,937 
			   
			 Total 5,698,636 
		
	
	
		
			  The Billy Wright inquiry 
			   £ 
			  2007-08  Spend 
			 October -385,450 
			 November 750,679 
			 December 566,304 
			 January 491,246 
			 February 777,436 
			 March 1,710,872 
			   
			 Total 3,911,088 
		
	
	These figures remain provisional until the 2007-08 financial year accounts are
	completed.
	
		
			  The Bloody Sunday inquiry 
			   £ 
			  2007-08  Actuals cash 
			 October 234,884 
			 November 462,529 
			 December 239,949 
			 January 453,054 
			 February 599,295 
			 March 365,839 
			   
			 Total 2,355,549 
		
	
	The Bloody Sunday Inquiry figures are cash spend.
	
		
			  The Historical Enquiries Team 
			  £ 
			  2007-08  PSNI HET Spend  FSNI HET Spend  OPONI HET Spend  Total 
			 October 489,000 28,669 63,000 580,669 
			 November 476,000 102,932 69,000 647,932 
			 December 388,000 13,912 74,000 475,912 
			 January 686,000 22,000 56,000 764,000 
			 February 919,000 32,066 62,000 1,013,066 
			 March 228,000 30,588 66,000 324,588 
			  
			 Total 3,186,000 230,167 390,000 3,806,167

Africa: Malaria

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost to the public purse will be of the provision of the recently announced 20 million bed nets to tackle malaria in Africa; what the cost per bed bet is; what estimate he has made of the expenditure that will be incurred in  (a) administering the programme and  (b) distributing the bed nets; whether the Government will meet all the associated costs; and from what budget such funding will be drawn.

Gillian Merron: On the basis of current prices the Department for International Development (DFID) anticipates that the total costs for the 20 million bed nets over the three-year period 2008-10 will be in the region of £90 million. This estimate is based on a bed net cost of around £2.50 and a further £2 per net for costs of programme administration, distribution and delivery. DFID will support delivery through its country programmes.
	In some countries the overhead and delivery costs may be met by other organisations or the recipient Government. The UK's contribution is additional to its contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria , and UNITAID which should play a central role in supporting provision of bed nets and other essential health commodities and drugs. We also look to these organisations to play a catalytic role in pushing down on prices.

Africa: Malaria

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which organisations his Department plans to work with in distributing bed nets to tackle malaria in Africa; what steps his Department plans to take to ensure efficient delivery; who will determine where the bed nets are to be distributed and on what criteria; which countries he expects to be the primary beneficiaries; and according to what timetable delivery will take place.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) will work with a range of partners to ensure bed nets are distributed and delivered effectively. We will work to strengthen recipient government systems for delivering bed nets. Decisions on where the bed nets will be distributed and on what criteria, as well as the role of partners such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, will be based on country needs and will be made in-country by DFID's country programmes.
	Delivery will be monitored in accordance with DFID's standard arrangements. We expect the countries that will benefit from UK-funded bed nets shall include Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Congo, Mozambique. The timetable for delivery over the period 2008-10 will be determined by the individual countries' needs and capacity and the most efficient means of delivery.

Fylde

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent staff  (a) were employed by each of his business directorates in Fylde in each of the last four years and  (b) have been so employed in 2008;
	(2)  how many of his Department's staff working in Fylde were redeployed to Government work in another Department in  (a) 2008 and  (b) each of the preceding four years.

Anne McGuire: The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed in each business unit in Fylde in each of the last four years is shown in the following table. For 2004-07 the figure shown is the number of staff still employed at 31 December. The figure for 2008 is at 30 April 2008 the latest date for which figures are available.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent staff employed in Fylde 
			  Fylde Business Units  Staffing  December 20 04  December  20 05  December 20 06  December  20 07  April  20 08 
			 The Appeals Service(1) FTE 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Child Support Agency FTE 302 294 456 382 367 
			 Corporate and Shared Services FTE 1,474 1,300 1,143 944 876 
			 Disability and Carers Service FTE 2,973 3,143 3,040 2,763 2,703 
			 Jobcentre Plus FTE 983 471 873 770 735 
			 The Pensions Service FTE 94 104 326 214 103 
			 Total FTE(2)  5,826 5,314 5,839 5,073 4,784 
			 (1) The Appeals Service transferred to the Department for Constitutional Affairs from April 2006. (2) Total may not sum due to rounding 
		
	
	The number of the Department's staff who transferred from Fylde to Government work in another Department is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Staff transferring to other Government Departments 
			  Fylde staff transferred to OGD( 1)  Headcount 
			 1 January to 31 December 2004 32 
			 1 January to 31 December 2005 18 
			 1 January to 31 December 2006 23 
			 1 January to 31 December 2007 24 
			 1 January to 30 April 2008 (latest month) 4 
			 Total 101 
			 (1) The numbers of staff transferred to OGD includes both staff redeployed and those moving on a voluntary basis. To break this information down further would be at a disproportionate cost.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Students

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects the review into the rules on periods of study allowed by those on jobseekers allowance to be completed and published.

James Plaskitt: We worked with City Strategy Pathfinders during 2007 to look at what further enabling measures could be put in place to help people into work; this included looking at whether any further changes needed to be made to enable benefit claimants to be able to study or train full-time. This work concluded that a wide range of flexibilities already existed to enable full-time study, for example those on long-term incapacity benefit and people in vulnerable groups claiming income support.
	In our joint report with DIUS, "Opportunity, Employment and Progression", published on 26 November 2007, we indicated that we were removing the 16 hour rule in housing benefit for short term recipients of incapacity benefit and that we would consider whether it might be practicable to define limited exemptions from the '16 hour rule' for specific groups—such as young people living in supported accommodation. We will report on progress on both of these in due course. We are also taking forward a proposal to allow more people on jobseeker's allowance to be able to access full-time, employment focused training for up to eight weeks by moving them onto a training allowance. We are planning to test a similar flexibility in a City Strategy Pathfinder area later this year and, learning the lessons from this, roll out nationally during the 2009-10 academic year. We are also looking at further ways of increasing access to full-time training for jobseeker's allowance claimants where this would help support their move into employment.

Pensioners: Income

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of pensioners had a net annual income of  (a) up to £5,200,  (b) £5,200 to £10,400,  (c) £10,400 to £20,800,  (d) £20, 800 to £40,000,  (e) £40,000 to £80,000 and  (f) over £80,000 in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK in the latest year for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: Due to pension credit no pensioner need live on less than £124.05 per week (£6,451 per year) in 2008-09, compared to £67.05 per week in 1996-97 (£3,487 per year).
	The pension credit take-up target for 2008-09 is to deliver an annualised value of new successful pension credit applications of £767 million and to secure at least 250,000 successful new pension credit applications, an increase of 15,000 on this year's target.
	We want as many people as possible to take up the benefits they are entitled to, which is why we have simplified the application process and focussed on encouraging people to apply.
	The following table shows the percentage of pensioners with net income in each income band:
	
		
			   Percentage of pensioner units with net income in each band 
			   Scotland  UK 
			 Up to £5,200 4 6 
			 £5,200 to £10,400 39 34 
			 £10,400 to £20,800 44 43 
			 £20,800 to £40,000 12 14 
			 Over £40,000 2 3 
			  Notes: 1. Net income before housing costs is gross income less income tax payments, national insurance contributions, contributions to occupational and private pension schemes, local taxes, maintenance and child support payments, and parental contributions to children living away from home. 2. Based on survey data and as such subject to a degree of sampling and non sampling error.  3. All figures are rounded to the nearest 1 per cent. Figures may not sum to 100 per cent. due to rounding. 4. Due to the small sample sizes involved in estimates below a national level, three year's data have been combined and the income band has been deflated to the appropriate year's prices. 5. A pensioner unit is either a single person over pension age or a couple in which at least one person is over pension age. 6. Figures for Scotland are estimated by combining three year's data from 2003-04 to 2005-06. Figures for the UK are based on 2005-06 data. Reliable estimates of the percentage of pensioners receiving between £40,000 and £80,000 per year and over £80,000 per year are not possible with the data source, so the two groups have been combined.  Source: Family Resources Survey

Social Security Benefits: Overseas Residence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of  (a) disability living allowance care component,  (b) incapacity benefits,  (c) state pension and  (d) bereavement benefits claimed outside the United Kingdom was in the last year for which figures are available; and what he expects them to be in the next three financial years.

James Plaskitt: Benefits claimed outside the United Kingdom excluding disability living allowance is in the following table.
	The cost of the disability living allowance (DLA) care component claimed outside the UK was estimated to be below £1 million in 2006-07. From October 2007 the ECJ judgment on exportability of the care component will increase DLA expenditure outside the UK, however the full extent of the UK's responsibilities following this judgment have not yet been determined.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Incapacity benefit 44 44 42 36 
			 Severe disablement allowance 1 — — — 
			 State pension 2,175 2,323 2,482 2,651 
			 Bereavement benefits 25 23 21 18 
			  Notes:  1. All figures are consistent with spring 2008 forecasts, as well as expenditure information published on the internet at  www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp.  2. There is no forecast available for severe disablement allowance.  Source:  Departmental Accounting and Statistical data and forecasts.

Biofuels

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research was commissioned by his Department on biogas production in  (a) England and  (b) Wales in each year since 2000.

Phil Woolas: Since 2000 DEFRA has spent £720,000 on research and development into biogas production. Current work includes the UK contribution to a EU FP7 Biogas project (£300,000 over four years). This project is due to complete in 2010 and will result in a synthesis of information required to assess the development of a sustainable biogas industry in the UK.
	The Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) has also conducted research on food waste processing, including anaerobic digestion. This can be found on WRAP'S website:
	www.wrap.org.uk/biowaste
	DEFRA holds the research and development budget and commission research relevant to England and Wales.
	DEFRA also launched the Waste Implementation programme's £30 million Demonstrator programme to demonstrate innovative waste treatments technologies as possible alternatives to landfill. The programme aims to prove the economic, social and environmental viability (or not) of each selected technology.

Carbon Emissions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable he has set for announcing the strategy to reduce UK carbon emissions to the levels proposed in the Climate Change Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Climate Change Bill requires that the UK Government set the first three carbon budgets in legislation by 1 June 2009 and publishes proposals and policies for meeting those carbon budgets as soon as is reasonably practicable afterwards.
	The Chancellor has announced that the first three carbon budgets and a plan for meeting them will be published alongside Budget 2009.

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any officials in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were disciplined or dismissed for (i) alleged breaches of data protection requirements and (ii) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: During the last three years no officials working in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and its agencies have been disciplined or dismissed for (i) alleged breaches of data protection requirements and (ii) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data.

Flood Control: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received on the implementation of the European Floods Directive 2007, what the timetable for implementation is; what the estimated cost of implementing the Directive is; what account will be taken of the provisions of the EU Water Framework Directive in implementing the European Floods Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The European Directive on the Assessment and Management of Flood Risks (2007/60/EC of 23 October 2007) (the Floods Directive) is designed to help member states prevent and limit floods and their damaging effects on human health, the environment, infrastructure and property.
	In contrast with current domestic legislation, the Floods Directive advocates a risk based approach to flood risk management. Sir Michael Pitt's interim report on lessons learned from the 2007 floods recommends that flooding legislation should be updated and streamlined under a single unifying Act, which embraces this risk based approach.
	The Floods Directive came into force on 26 November, 2007 and member states have two years to transpose the directive into domestic law. DEFRA is co-ordinating transposition within the UK and is ultimately responsible for its timely and compliant implementation. A UK Floods Directive Liaison Group is developing policy on implementation and monitoring progress against the project timetable which, for England, is set out as follows:
	Project initiation—August 2007
	Consult on draft regulations and impact assessment (including the cost of implementation)—from February 2009
	Review outcome of consultation, revise and lay draft regulations by July 2009
	Bring into force—November 2009
	The cost of transposing and implementing the directive will be assessed prior to consultation. However, given that existing flood risk mapping and planning arrangements in England already reflect the broad thrust of the directive and new proposals on surface water management to address Pitt will compliment those of the directive so costs will be limited.
	The flood risk assessment process required by the Floods Directive must be aligned with the environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive and carried out in consultation with stakeholders.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Crops

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the status is of the GM crops  (a) hybrid maize (i) MON863 x MON810, (ii) MON863 x NK603 and (iii) MON863 x MON810 x NK603,  (b) GM maize (i) Bt11 and (ii) ISO7,  (c) GM rice LL62 and  (d) GM potato Amflora.

Phil Woolas: At a College of Commissioner's orientation debate on GMOs on 7 May the European Commission decided to refer all of these applications back to the European Food Safety Authority for further scientific advice.

Parole

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases the Parole Board considered in each of the last 10 years; how many and what proportion of offenders were granted oral hearings in each of those years; and how many of those offenders were granted parole in each year.

David Hanson: The information requested is set out in the following table. It is based on data published by the Parole Board in its annual reports. It excludes the Parole Board's consideration of recalled prisoners.
	Almost all determinate sentence prisoners have their parole applications considered on the papers and therefore the oral hearings listed in the table are predominantly in respect of indeterminate and extended sentence prisoners.
	
		
			   Determinate sentence prisoners considered for parole  Extended and Intermediate (including lifers) prisoners considered for parole  Granted oral hearing  Granted oral hearing (Percentage)  Released by oral hearing  Released by oral hearing (Percentage) 
			 1997-98 5,242 912 278 4.5 39 14.0 
			 1998-99 6,078 753 291 4.2 26 8.9 
			 1999-2000 6,219 903 282 3.9 38 16.7 
			 2000-01 5,576 803 272 4.2 43 15.8 
			 2001-02 5,514 979 466 7.1 40 8.5 
			 2002-03 6,012 1,168 495 6.8 91 18.3 
			 2003-04 6,038 1,672 1,018 13.2 254 24.9 
			 2004-05 7,297 1,614 1,341 15.0 290 21.6 
			 2005-06 7,528 1,761 1,512 16.2 270 17.8 
			 2006-07 6,923 2,104 1,831 20.2 213 11.6

Rape

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of those convicted of rape were aged  (a) 10 to 15,  (b) 16 to 18,  (c) 19 to 25,  (d) 26 to 30 and  (e) over 30 years in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: Data showing the number of defendants found guilty of rape, broken down by age group, in England and Wales from 1997 to 2006 is in the following table.
	The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Number of defendants convicted of rape( 1)  at all courts, by age group, England and Wales, 1997 to 2006( 2, 3) 
			  Age  1997  1998  1999  2000( 4)  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 10-15 20 8 19 12 15 8 14 10 25 31 
			 16-18 45 21 39 37 31 28 26 28 66 63 
			 19-25 72 95 62 77 79 76 107 148 127 142 
			 26-30 72 72 64 66 54 73 67 77 65 72 
			 31 and over 308 375 377 313 315 363 369 381 411 446 
			 All ages 517 571 561 505 494 548 583 644 694 754 
			 (1) The following offences and statutes have been included in the above data; Rape of a female aged under 16. - Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 Rape of a female aged 16 or over. - Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 Rape of a male aged under 16. - Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 Rape of a male aged 16 or over - Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 Rape of a female child under 13 by a male - Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 Rape of a male child under 13 by a male - Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 (2) These data are on the principal offence basis. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.

Thorncross Young Offenders Institute

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Thorncross Young Offenders Institute Fire Cadet scheme run in partnership with Cheshire fire service in  (a) promoting social responsibility in and  (b) providing positive role models for participants from the prison estate; and if he will make a statement on the future of this initiative within the Prison Service.

Maria Eagle: Local observations backed up in some areas by external evaluation demonstrate that the fire cadet programme offered a wide range of benefits and opportunities for young people in custody, including becoming more socially responsible under the tutorage of positive role models. The programme has been suspended following the loss of European Social Fund IMPACT project funding, but Thorn Cross will re-establish it if appropriate funding can be secured.

Voting Rights: Commonwealth

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which Commonwealth countries give UK citizens who are resident in those countries full voting rights.

Bridget Prentice: Following parliamentary questions on this subject in recent years we sought to obtain information from individual Commonwealth countries about the voting rights of British/Commonwealth citizens resident within their confines.
	We received a response rate of 57 per cent. and from this information we have established that within those countries that there are no formal reciprocal or other arrangements in place concerning voting rights between Commonwealth countries (including the UK).
	As in the UK, it is for the individual Commonwealth countries concerned to decide on their own franchise arrangements and whether they wish to extend the franchise to other Commonwealth citizens resident in their countries, as the UK does to Commonwealth citizens lawfully resident here.
	We are aware that in some Commonwealth countries, resident British/Commonwealth citizens may be able to vote in elections there. However, this is linked to time resident in the country or a particular electoral area and is, in respect of some states, not by virtue of them being British/Commonwealth citizens but rather simply because they are lawfully resident non-nationals.

Young Offenders: Education

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) male and  (b) female offenders aged 10 to 17-years-old gained one or more (i) GCSE, (ii) AS Level, (iii) NVQ, (iv) BTEC and (v) other qualifications while in custody in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 20 May 2008
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Department does not hold central records on the achievements of all young people in custody. However, the development of the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) through the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) from 31 July 2006, means that data on young offender achievement within Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) is now collected. The first full year of data is in the following tables:
	
		
			  All OLASS provisions  GCSE  GCSE  GCE, A/AS/AS level  GCE A/AS/AS level  GNVQ precursor (BTEC)  GNVQ precursor (BTEC)  NVQ  NVQ 
			 Gender Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female 
			 Learners achieving one or more specific aim type 38 — 1 — — — 3 5 
		
	
	
		
			  All OLASS provisions  OCN  OCN  Other  Other  Totals  Tota l 
			 Gender Male Female Male Female Male Female 
			 Learners achieving one or more specific aim type 582 40 3,161 184 3,785 229 
		
	
	For many young people in custody, who area registered at learning providers in the community, their achievements will be attributed to the learning provider with which they are registered, rather than the custodial establishment's LSC provider. Therefore the LSC figures do not provide records of all of the academic achievements of all young people in YOIs.

Young Offenders: Education

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) male and  (b) female offenders aged 10 to 17 years began (i) GCSE, (ii) AS Level, (iii) A Level, (iv) NVQ, (v) BTEC and (vi) apprenticeship qualifications while in custody in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 20 May 2008
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Department does not hold central records on the enrolment of all young people in custody onto qualifications. However, the development of the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) through the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) from 31 July 2006, means that data on young offender enrolment and achievement within Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) is now collected. The first full year of data is as in the following tables:
	
		
			  Count of learners enrolled by specific aim type—all OLASS provision for young people aged 10 to 17 
			  All OLASS Provision  GCSE  GC S E  GCE A/AS/AS level  GCE A/AS/A2 level  GNVQ precursor (BTEC)  GNVQ precursor (BTEC)  NVQ  NVQ 
			 Gender Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female 
			 Learners enrolled on specific aim type 94 1 12 — 1 — 12 15 
		
	
	
		
			  All OLASS Provision  OCN  OCN  Other  Other  Totals  Total 
			 Gender Male Female Male Female Male Female 
			 Learners enrolled on specific aim type 1,747 88 6,601 355 8,467 459 
		
	
	For many young people in custody, who are registered at learning providers in the Community, their enrolment will be attributed to the learning provider with which they are registered, rather than the custodial establishment's LSC provider. Therefore the LSC figures do not provide records of all of the academic enrolments of all young people in YOIs.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many receptions he has hosted and funded in his capacity as Secretary of State in the last 12 months; which individuals and organisations  (a) were invited to and  (b) attended each reception; and what the cost was of each reception.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department will publish in due course, an annual list providing information relating to official receptions hosted by Ministers in the Department during the course of the 2007-08 financial year.

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many respondents took part in each consultation held by his Department in each of the last three years.

Ben Bradshaw: The number of responses to consultations conducted by the Department is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of responses to consultations varies greatly. For example, there were 34 responses to the consultation on 'Implementation of European Directive 2005/36/EC, for Health and Social Care professions in the United Kingdom'. There were more than 41,000 responses to the "Your Health, Your care, Your say initiative.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received treatment for heroin abuse in  (a) Cornwall,  (b) the South West and  (c) England in each year since 1979.

Dawn Primarolo: Only part of the data requested is available. The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse publish information from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) on the numbers of people in structured drug treatment.
	As shown in the following table NDTMS figures for the numbers of people in structured drug treatment for heroin misuse, in each drug action team partnership area and by region were only published for one year, 2003-04 and since 2004-05 data has only been published at a national level. Data for 2007-08 will be published this summer.
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Cornwall 708 n/a n/a n/a 
			 South West 2,013 n/a n/a n/a 
			 England 78,931 80,274 108,000 117,305 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	Prior to 2003-04 the numbers of clients receiving drug treatment were based on estimates.

NHS: Cleaning Services

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what products and treatments, used for infection control or cleaning purposes in NHS facilities, have been reviewed by the Rapid Review Panel since December 2005.

Ann Keen: Since December 2005 five products have demonstrated sufficient basic research and development, validation and recent in use evaluations to enable the Rapid Review Panel (RRP) to make a recommendation to the Department that the product should be made available to national health service bodies. This is a recommendation one.
	Where appropriate products have been made available to the NHS by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) via the NHS Supply Chain and are contained in their product supply catalogue.
	The Department does not have full information on the use of the products reviewed by the RRP as infection control products do not have to be purchased through NHS Supply Chain. NHS trusts are free to choose which products to purchase and will maintain their own records.
	NHS PASA does not recommend particular products.

NHS: Finance

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much Mid Essex primary care trust received per capita in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average level of per capita funding for primary care trusts in England was in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  which primary care trusts received  (a) the highest and  (b) the lowest level of per capita funding in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The latest year for which data is available is 2008-09. Table 1 as follows provides the revenue allocation per head of unweighted population made to Mid Essex primary care trust (PCT) for 2008-09, and it also includes the average level of funding per capita for PCTs in England for the same period.
	Table 2 as follows shows the PCTs receiving the highest and the lowest level of funding per capita in 2008-09.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   2008-09 allocation per head (£) 
			 Mid Essex PCT 1,187 
			 England average 1,449 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  PCT  2008-09 allocation per head  (£)  Rank of allocation per head 
			 Islington PCT 2,066 Highest allocation 
			 South Gloucestershire PCT 1,178 Lowest allocation

NHS: Infectious Diseases

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many products were recommended to his Department by the Rapid Review Panel for  (a) development for use in the NHS and  (b) for trial in an NHS clinical setting in the last year for which information is available.

Ann Keen: The Rapid Review Panel (RRP) has reviewed 37 products in three meetings since May 2007.
	Four products have demonstrated sufficient basic research and development, validation and recent in use evaluations to enable the RRP to make a recommendation to the Department that the product should be made available to national health service bodies. This is a recommendation one.
	Four products have been awarded a recommendation two stating that basic research and development has been completed and the product may have potential value; in use evaluations/trials are now needed in an NHS clinical setting. However, it is not within the remit of the RRP to clinically evaluate or undertake the evaluation of products within the NHS.

NHS: Negligence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time was for a claim for clinical negligence against his Department to be resolved in  (a) the latest period for which figures are available and  (b) 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: In 2007-08, the average time for the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) to resolve a claim was 1.50 years for claims under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) and 5.36 years for claims under the Existing Liabilities Scheme (ELS) or the Ex-Regional Health Authorities Scheme (Ex-RHA).
	Data for 1997-98 is not available as the NHSLA did not record date of settlement on their database until July 2000. The earliest year for which data can be provided for comparison is 2001-02, where the average time for the NHSLA to resolve a claim under CNST was 1.39 years and 3.67 years for ELS/Ex-RHA.

Alcohol Disorder Zones

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the establishment of alcohol disorder zones; and when such zones are planned to become operational.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office has not received any recent formal representations concerning alcohol disorder zones. The ADZ regulations have passed through both Houses of Parliament and we expect the regulations will be commenced in June 1008.
	A copy of the updated guidance can be found on the Home Office website using the following link:
	http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/alcohol-disorder-zone-guidance

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting have been made in each such year.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office participates in the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund which is co-ordinated by DEFRA. This ensures the Department offsets carbon dioxide emissions from its official air travel. Figures for 2006-07 (the only year for which data has been published) are set out as follows. This data covers some business areas that are now part of Ministry of Justice.
	
		
			  2006-07 
			  Includes:  Cost (£) 
			 Core HO, Identity and Passport Service, and UK Borders Agency and Forensic Science Service 38,993.24

Drugs: Imports

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the countries of origin of illegal drugs imported into the UK were in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2007, giving the percentage of illegal imports from each.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 14 May 2008
	For 1997, the NCIS UK Threat Assessment showed that Spain represented the traditional route for cocaine entering Europe, because of the extensive cultural links with South America; and other routes through Africa and East European and Eurasian were becoming more important (no percentages are available). Interpol estimated that 80-90 per cent. of heroin trafficked to Western Europe originated from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. 60-80 per cent. of cannabis resin supplied to Western Europe originated from Morocco.
	For 2007, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) estimates that 80-85 per cent. of the cocaine being trafficked to the UK, originated in Colombia. The remaining 15-20 per cent. was believed to have originated from Peru/Bolivia/Ecuador. Almost all the opium used to manufacture heroin imported into the UK originated in Afghanistan; with the actual manufacture of heroin from opium base taking place in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. (Data is not held on the respective percentages for manufacture.) The majority of herbal cannabis originated in Morocco and South East Asia; skunk cannabis in the Netherlands; and cannabis resin in Jamaica and parts of Africa (no percentages are available).
	Amphetamines originated from a variety of European countries, primarily the Netherlands and Belgium (no percentages are available).

Licensed Premises: Non-Domestic Rates

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1302W, on licensed premises: non-domestic rates, what estimate her Department has made of the maximum charge in cash terms that can be levied per year on a business in an alcohol disorder zone; and what the commencement date is for councils to be able to designate and implement such zones.

Vernon Coaker: There is no maximum charge that be levied on a business in respect of the charges relating to an alcohol disorder zone. The charging mechanism is explained fully in the updated guidance for ADZs which can be accessed via the Home Office website using the following link:
	http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/alcohol-disorder-zone-guidance
	The ADZ regulations have passed through both Houses of Parliament and we expect that they will be commenced in June 2008.

Licensing

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on supermarkets which sell alcoholic liquor and their obligations under the implementation of alcohol action zones; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 28 January 2008
	Supermarkets which sell alcoholic liquor are not excluded from the obligations imposed by an alcohol disorder zone (ADZ). However, local authorities will need to consider, on a case by case basis, whether a supermarket or other retail outlet passes both the principle use test and the patronage test.
	The ADZ regulations have passed through both Houses of Parliament and we expect commencement to take place in June 2008. A copy of the updated guidance can be found on the Home Office website using the following link:
	http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/alcohol-disorder-zone-guidance